Abstract
In this reflection on abortion, we will analyze from the bioethics viewpoint the concept of autonomy; in accordance with the liberal individual model and personal ambitions to be applied to the woman’s and the doctor’s decision making and the society in general. Now that the abortion liberalization is being proposed in Spain through a law that intends to substitute the decriminalization of certain assumptions that have been in effect since 1985, it is necessary to analyze in deep the ethical aspects beyond the legal and social approaches. Bioethics and Law must join together, since both have the same aim: the promotion of human life respect and its basic rights; safeguard –as long as possible -, the values within an interpersonal relationship that lead to fulfill a woman’s life having an unwanted pregnancy, as well as that of the fetus and the doctor; and always trying to protect the rights of those who are the weakest: the woman and the fetus, without disregarding everyone’s duties with them.
Highlights
IntroductionThe debate on the statute of human embryo leads us to related question: When does human life start?
Before starting to discuss about decisions relating to abortion, which may be dealt with from very different perspectives, e.g., social, psychological, medical, legal, ethical, etc., in bioethics we must address two concepts that are extensively used in all debates on this issue, and which give rise to some questions: 1. Statute of human embryo: what or who are the embryo and the fetus? Who are talking about when discussion on abortion? The debate on the statute of human embryo leads us to related question: When does human life start? Is it a matter to be determined by philosophy or science? Or, perhaps, by both?
Woman’s autonomy to decide: What is autonomy? What are its limits, if any? Can the mother – or other people, including the physician – decide for the fetus? and can the mother – or other people – including the physician, carry out a deeply malicious action, as is abortion, on the fetus, by charitable reasons for the mother?. Perhaps these are the most fundamental questions on abortion that are raised in all debates from different bioethical perspectives, they are certainly not the only ones
Summary
The debate on the statute of human embryo leads us to related question: When does human life start? “Almost everyone shares, explicitly or intuitively, the idea that human lives has objective and intrinsic value which is completely independent of personal valuation that anyone makes of it “[3]. It is only by assuming the general acceptance of this premise that it is possible, according to Dworkin, to understand why abortion is still a problem for those who regard the embryo as a person, or the problem resulting from the euthanasia dilemma, even when required by the affected person.
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